The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie

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Academy Awards

1972: Best Foreign-Language Film

The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie from France, directed by Luis Buñuel

Other Nominees

The Dawns Here Are Quiet from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, directed by Stanislav Rostotsky

I Love You Rosa from Israel, directed by Moshe Mizrahi

My Dearest Señorita from Spain, directed by Jaime de Armiñán

The New Land from Sweden, directed by Jan Troell

The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie is a farcical tale of a group of middle-class friends whose attempts to share a meal together are continually interrupted by a series of strange events dreamed by the male characters. The story is loosely structured and depicted through different levels of consciousness; reality, dream, and fantasy merge until it is unclear which is which. An irreverent, satirical attack on society and its values, the film elegantly expresses the themes and concerns Buñuel first established in his early surrealist classics Un Chien andalou (1929; “An Andalusian Dog”) and L’Âge d’or (1930; “The Golden Age”) and which he continued to explore throughout his long career.

The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (Le Charme discret de la bourgeoisie) from France, directed by Luis Buñuel, screenplay by Luis Buñuel and Jean-Claude Carrière (AAN).

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